sharp
cha.ruts describes diligent, effective persons in Proverbs and sharp threshing equipment in prophetic passages.
The dominant attested use is adjectival in Proverbs, where it characterizes persons whose hands, plans, or desires contrast with slackness, sluggishness, or haste and are associated with enrichment, rule, prosperity, and advantage. Other occurrences describe threshing equipment or implements in Isaiah and Amos; the singular noun occurrence in Job appears in a creature description, but the APB does not make its specific contribution clear.
Senses in use
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Diligent, effective persons · dominant
In Proverbs 10:4 and Proverbs 12:24, masculine plural adjectival forms occur in sayings that contrast a diligent hand with slackness: the APB renders enrichment and rule on one side, poverty and forced labor on the other. Proverbs 12:27, Proverbs 13:4, and Proverbs 21:5 use singular or plural adjectival forms in contrasts involving sluggishness or haste; the APB renders the outcomes as precious substance, prosperity, and advantage.
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Sharp threshing equipment or implements · common
Isaiah 28:27 has a masculine singular adjective in a clause about threshing dill and cummin; the APB renders a “sharp instrument.” In Isaiah 41:15 the singular noun occurs in the description of a new threshing sled that treads and crushes, while Amos 1:3 has a masculine plural construct noun in the charge that Gilead was threshed with implements of sharp iron.
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Unclear noun in a creature description · rare
Job 41:22 contains a masculine singular noun within the description of a creature’s neck and the dismay before its face. The APB renders the surrounding clause, “Strength lodges in his neck, and dismay dances before his face,” but does not clearly isolate this term’s contribution.
In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB presents the term with varied wording: “diligent” and “sharp” in Proverbs, and “sharp instrument” or “sharp new threshing sled” in Isaiah; Amos 1:3 speaks of “implements of sharp iron.” In Job 41:22, the translation renders the surrounding description without clearly showing a corresponding English expression.